As humans we need three basic substances to sustain life: clean air, clean water and good soil. Contaminate any one and you introduce disease and other health problems.

Horizontal hydraulic fracking endangers all three. This new form of fracking is radically different from the type of fracking done 50 years ago. At that time only the ground immediately surrounding the vertical drilling shaft was endangered.

In this newer method, at the bottom of the vertical shaft many shafts are drilled out horizontally like an octopus. These may go out one-half mile or more. Now many toxic chemicals are injected under pressure into all the horizontal shafts. This toxic mixture is designed to crack the surrounding rock formation to release the methane gas, known as natural gas. Some of the 900 possible chemicals used: formaldehyde, hydrochloric acid, ethanol, phosphoric acid salt, Z-butoxyethanol, acetic anhydride, isopropanol and ethylene glycol. The common name for ethylene glycol is antifreeze.

Some of the known health hazards of these chemicals include: kidney failure, respiratory problems and an impaired autoimmune system, to name a few. Remember the purpose of this mixture is to break, or "frack," the rock. Eventually this chemical mixture will make its way up to the surface. On its way up it will contaminate the water table, the soil and eventually the air. It may take a few months or years depending on the structure of the ground.

As stated above, the older form of fracking has been around for 50 years, so why worry? It should be noted that many practices of the past have proven today to be very hazardous to our health. Examples include dumping raw sewage into rivers and lakes, air emissions from refineries and manufacturing plants and even the use of tobacco products. As a matter of fact, tobacco products have been in use for hundreds of years; however, today you cannot smoke in a restaurant, grocery store or theater. The reason is second-hand smoke endangers the health of non-smokers. The same situation is true for hydraulic horizontal fracking; it too endangers the public health by polluting our water, air and soil.

Currently there is a petition drive in Michigan to ban horizontal hydraulic fracking. You can get involved by visiting the website for the Committee to Ban Fracking in Michigan at letsbanfracking.org.

Robert XerasAdrian Township

Red Cross grateful for help after downtown Adrian fire

To the editor,

The American Red Cross would like to thank the organizations and individuals who responded, following the devastating Cornerstone Apartments fire in Adrian on June 12.

More than 30 Red Cross volunteers from Lenawee and Washtenaw counties quickly responded by providing emergency assistance with lodging, food, clothing and emotional support for more than 40 individuals affected by the fire.

Due to the magnitude of this emergency, Red Cross quickly convened other community partners to begin coordinating services aimed at getting people back into long-term housing and on the road to recovery.

We would like to recognize the United Way, Salvation Army, Emergency Management, Department of Human Services, Housing Help of Lenawee, Associated Charities, Goodwill Industries, Riverside Terrace Apartment Management, Super 8 Motel, Holiday Inn and Suites, Carlton Lodge, Cornerstone Apartment Management and other local agencies who played a key role in the recovery efforts of the residents.

An extra thank you goes to the leadership at United Way, who generously provided $5,000 toward our own relief efforts. Their help was especially significant, given that the Red Cross responded to 15 incidents and assisted 18 Lenawee families displaced by fires earlier this year.

We often say that the local Red Cross is only as strong as the community support it receives. For this reason, we can't be more grateful for the volunteers, blood donors, financial contributors and community partners who make our work possible. Once again, Lenawee County has demonstrated how much it cares about the needs of its residents and neighbors!